A key issue in the use of nanomaterials is controlling how they interact with themselves and with the outer world. Our research program focuses on the tailoring of nanoparticles of surfaces for a variety of applications, coupling the atomic-level control provided by organic synthesis with the fundamental principles of supramolecular chemistry. This talk will focus on the interfacing of nanoparticles with biosystems, and will discuss the application of self-assembled nanoparticles as delivery vehicles. We will demonstrate the delivery of proteins and nucleic acids directly into the cytosol, including functional CRISPR systems. We will also show how this efficient cellular delivery translates into effective systemic CRISPR editing in vivo. Finally, this presentation will also feature the use of nanoparticles and polymers for diagnostic applications, focusing on using selective nanoparticle-protein interactions to generate array-based ("chemical nose") sensors for cell geno- and phenotyping, and the use of polymers for rapid diagnosing of liver disease.

Biography:

Vincent Rotello is the Charles A. Goessmann Professor of Chemistry and a University Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has been the recipient of the NSF CAREER and Cottrell Scholar awards, as well as the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, the Sloan Fellowships. More recently, he has received the Langmuir Lectureship (2010), the Transformational Research and Excellence in Education Award presented by Research Corporation (2016) and the Bioorganic Lectureship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) (2016). He is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the Royal Society of Chemistry (U.K.). He is also recognized in 2014 and 2015 by Thomson Reuters as one of the “Most Influential Scientific Minds”. He is currently the Editor in Chief of Bioconjugate Chemistry, and is on the Editorial Board of 14 other journals. His research program focuses on using synthetic organic chemistry to engineer the interface between the synthetic and biological worlds, and spans the areas of devices, polymers, and nanotechnology/bionanotechnology, with over 475 peer-reviewed papers published to date.

Aluminum-air (Al-air) battery has been invented for more than 50 years, which is well-known for its high energy density and excellent power output. Nevertheless, the application of this technology is still restricted to large-systems with high cost due to its complexity, while its application in portable devices is barely reported. This is because of its requirement of high-purity Al anode and complex electrolyte management, which lead to poor market competitiveness and system redundancy. Inspired by the evergrowing research on paper-based power sources, we have developed a novel-type Al-air battery to bring this conventional technology to the enormous miniwatt market potential. By using cellulose paper as electrolyte channel, the whole system is greatly simplified without the need for bulky liquid storage or active electrolyte delivery. Hydrogen generation is also suppressed. More importantly, the restricted electrolyte transport and ion diffusion inside the porous and tortuous paper enables the direct utilization of low-purity Al (<98%) in alkaline electrolyte with a high specific capacity of 1732 mA h g-1.

Furthermore, the intrinsic flexibility and printability of paper have enabled the fabrication of flexible and printable Al-air batteries, which are more lightweight and versatile. This printable battery design directly employs Al ink and Oxidation Reduction Reaction (ORR) ink for anode and cathode fabrication, respectively. This novel design exhibits a great development potential for a much smarter and more economic battery application prospect for the emerging miniwatt market such as wearable electronics, point-of-care diagnostic assays, biosensors, smart packages, etc. In this talk, the above innovative batteries will be introduced and demonstrated.

Biography

Prof. Dennis Y.C. Leung received his BEng (1982) and PhD (1988) from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong. He is currently a full professor and associate head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong specializing in environmental pollution control and renewable & clean energy development. He has published more than 430 articles in these two areas including 260+ peer reviewed SCI journal papers. His current h-index is 60 with citations more than 14000. He is one of the top 1% highly cited scientists in the world in energy field since 2010 (Essential Science Indicators) and named as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics in 2017 and 2018. Prof. Leung is a chartered engineer, a fellow of the IMechE and Energy Institute. He is also the Past Chairman of the Institute of Energy (HK Branch), and serves as a specialty chief editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science, associate editor of the Progress in Energy and editorial board member of Applied Energy, Energy Conversion and Management, and Applied Sciences.

Prof. Leung has delivered more than 60 keynote and invited speeches in many conferences as well as public lectures.

Haptic capability, both sensing and interaction, is essential for a robot working in unstructured environments, yet robotic haptic technology today is still very primitive compared to even the simplest biological creatures. Haptic interaction is a cornerstone of many medical interventions/practices. Our lab designs robots with advanced haptic perception and interaction capabilities to address unmet needs in medicine, enabling safer and more effective diagnosis and treatment. We commit our work to benefit both patients and the medical profession while advancing the frontier of haptic robotics research. In this talk, I will share some applications of our research include haptic sensing for medical instruments, force sensing and control for robotic endoscopes for medical interventions, as well as robotic ultrasound guidance.

Short Bio:

Hongbin Liu is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Department of Informatics, King’s College London (KCL) where he is directing the Haptic Mechatronics and Medical Robotics (HaMMeR) Laboratory. Dr. Liu obtained his BEng in 2005 from Northwestern Polytechnical University, China, MSc and PhD in 2006 and 2010 respectively, both from the Division of Engineering, KCL. He is a member of the IEEE, and a Technical Committee Member of IEEE EMBS BioRobotics. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications at top international robotic journals and conferences and is inventor for 4 patents. His research has been funded by EPSRC, Innovate UK, NHS Trust and EU Commissions. His current research focuses on developing soft robotic systems for assistive medical interventions, with strong collaborations from IBM and Ericsson.

Abstract: As climate change and urbanisation proceed, energy, water, and food securities are key issues facing every country. The present seminar is aimed at presenting two stories about how we used numerical models to optimise the cleaning cycle of air-cooled power plant in China and solar-driven drip irrigation in India.

There is an increasing trend to use air-cooled condensers (ACC) in power generation to conserve water resources. Almost no study has focused on the optimisation of its cleaning cycles. In the first story, we developed a numerical model to estimate the total cost of energy loss and cleaning service due to dust fouling. An analytical optimisation was performed to find the optimal cleaning period and a global sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the important parameters that impact the optimisation results. To our knowledge, this is the first time to use global sensitivity analysis in the field.

In the second story, we invented a patent of bio-inspired drip irrigation valve. One of the most significant barriers to achieving large-scale dissemination of drip irrigation is the cost of the pump and power system. An effective means of reducing power consumption is by reducing pumping pressure. The principal source of pressure drop in a drip system is the high flow resistance of the self-regulating flow resistors installed at the outlets of the pipes, which evenly distribute water over a field. Traditional architectures require a minimum pressure of ~1 bar to maintain a constant flow rate; our aim is to reduce this pressure by 90% and correspondingly lower pumping power to facilitate the creation of low-cost, off-grid drip irrigation systems. This study presents a new Starling resistor architecture that enables the adjustment of flow rate with a fixed minimum pressure demand of ~0.1 bars. Using this device, a series of experiments were conducted with different flexible tube diameters, lengths and wall thickness. We found that the resistance of the needle valve changes flow rate but not the minimum transmural pressure required to collapse the tube. A lumped-parameter model was developed to capture the relationships between valve openings, pressure, and flow rates.

Bio: Dr Roger (Ruo-Qian) Wang is Lecturer of Fluid Mechanics in Civil Engineering at the University of Dundee. He has conducted Postdoctoral research in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and Mechanical Engineering and Tata Center for Research and Technology at MIT. He has obtained PhD in Environmental Fluid Mechanics at MIT, a Master degree from Singapore-Stanford Partnership (Nanyang Technological University /Stanford University), and a Bachelor degree from Beihang University, China. He has also served as a research engineer in Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology Center before his PhD. In 2019, he will hold Assistant Professor position at Rutgers University in the US.

Digital Manufacturing (DM) - of which 3D-Printing is an example - has been applied with great success to improve design efficiency and part performance in the automobile industry, aeronautics, microelectronics, architecture, sportswear, and biomedical implants, among others. However, by comparison with other manufacturing fields, microfluidics has been slow to adopt DM. Microfluidic chips are still designed largely from scratch, the materials (usually thermoset or thermoplastic polymers) are often manually poured into a mold to form 2D-layer replicas, and the mold replicas are manually aligned and bonded to form the final device. The production of microfluidic devices by micromolding, while being optimized for mass manufacturing, cannot be optimized at the same time for design variety. These limitations are difficult for researchers to assimilate because micromolding has been the prevalent mode of microfluidics manufacturing for over two decades. On the other hand, the economics of DM are well-suited for microfluidics because, as opposed to molding approaches, the cost per device does not scale up with its 3D complexity ("complexity is free") and is insensitive to the size of the production batch, i.e. DM is ideal for project customization ("variety is free"). We are developing microfluidic devices through stereolithography (SL), a form of 3D-Printing, in order to make microfluidic technology readily available via the web to biomedical scientists. We have developed microfluidic devices by SL in PEG-DA-based resins with automation and biocompatibility ratings similar to those made with PDMS

Albert Folch received his BSc in physics from the University of Barcelona (UB), Spain, in 1989. In 1994, he received his PhD in surface science and nanotechnology from the UB's Physics Dept. During his PhD he was a visiting scientist from 1990-91at the Lawrence Berkeley Lab working on AFM under Dr. Miquel Salmeron. From 1994-1996, he was a postdoc at MIT developing MEMS under the advice of Martin Schmidt (EECS) and Mark Wrighton (Chemistry). In 1997, he joined the laboratory of Mehmet Toner as a postdoc at Harvard's Center for Engineering in Medicine to apply soft lithographic methods to tissue engineering. He has been at Seattle's UW BioE since June 2000 where he is now a full Professor, accumulating over 6,700 citations (averaging >82 citations/paper over his whole career). His lab works at the interface between microfluidics, cancer and neurobiology. In 2001 he received a NSF Career Award and in 2014 he was elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows (Class of 2015). He serves on the Advisory Board of Lab on a Chip since 2006. Albert Folch is the author of four books, including "Introduction to BioMEMS", a textbook now adopted by more than 77 departments in 17 countries (including 40 universities in the U.S. alone). Since 2007, the lab runs a celebrated outreach art program called BAIT (Bringing Art Into Technology) which has produced seven exhibits, a popular resource gallery of >2,000 free images related to microfluidics and microfabrication, and a YouTube channel that plays microfluidic videos with music which accumulates ~133,000 visits since 2009.

Cells respond not only to biochemical but also to physical cues, such as stiffness, geometry and matrix degradability. In-vitro studies showed that hydrogel elasticity or degradation properties alone can direct cell differentiation, while scaffold geometry can control tissue growth rate. However, little is known about how these findings translate to an in-vivo scenario. Bone defect healing experiments were used to investigate how the architecture of a semi-rigid scaffold may pattern the organization of collagen fibers and subsequent mineralization in-vivo, using a 30 mm critical-sized defect in sheep tibia as a model system. The hierarchical material structure and properties of regenerated tissue were investigated using a multi-scale and multi-modal approach. Next, alginate hydrogels with varying stiffness were used for in-vivo host cell recruitment and osteogenic differentiation in a rat femoral 5 mm critical-sized defect. Current activities focus on tailoring the spatio-temporal degradation properties of novel click-crosslinked alginate hydrogels to direct cell migration and proliferation, guide spatial distribution and directionality of extracellular matrix deposition, and pattern in-vivo tissue formation.

On a wet day we need coats to keep dry, windscreen wipers to see and reservoirs to collect water and keep us alive. Our cars need oil to lubricate their engines, our ships need hulls that reduce drag and our planes need wings that limit ice formation. Nature has learnt to control water in a myriad of ways. The Lotus leaf cleanses itself of dust when it rains, a beetle in the desert collects drinking water from an early morning fog and some spiders walk on water. In all of these effects the unifying scientific principle is the control of the wettability of materials, often through the use of micro- and nano-scale topography to enhance the effect of surface chemistry. In this seminar I will outline recent examples of our research on smart surface-fluid interactions, including drag reduction and flow due to surface texture,1-4 interface localized liquid dielectrophoresis to create superspreading and dewetting,5-7 lubricant infused surfaces to remove pinning,8-10 and the Leidenfrost effect using turbine-like surfaces to create new types of heat engines and microfluidics.11-12

Acknowledgements The financial support of the UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Reece Innovation ltd is gratefully acknowledged. Many collaborators at Durham, Edinburgh, Nottingham Trent and Northumbria Universities were instrumental in the work described.

Biography. Glen McHale is a theoretical and experimental applied and materials physicist. At Northumbria University, he combines leading the Smart Materials & Surfaces laboratory with his role as Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering & Environment. His research considers the interaction of liquids with surfaces and has a particular focus on the use of surface texture/structure via microfabrication and materials methods, and the use of electric fields to control the wetting properties of surfaces. His work includes novel superhydrophobic surfaces, surfaces with drag reducing and slippery properties, and electrowetting/dielectrophoresis to control the wetting of surfaces. Glen has written invited “News and Views”, highlight, emerging area and review articles for a wide range of journals covering superhydrophobicity, dynamic wetting, liquid marbles and drag reduction. He has published over 170 refereed journal papers. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the RSA, a Senior Member of the IEEE, a member of the UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Peer Review College, and he was a panel member for the "Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials" unit of the last UK-wide national assessment of research (REF2014). Along with colleagues at Northumbria, Nottingham Trent and Oxford Universities, he has developed a public understanding of science exhibition, "Natures Raincoats" (www.naturesraincoats.com).

Ultrasonic phased arrays have changed the way ultrasonic imaging is perceived and are responsible for increased imaging quality, in real time. Since the '60s, they have had a profound impact in science, medicine and society, being the technology at the heart of all medical ultrasonic imaging and sonars. During the last two decades, they have seen a dramatic increase in their use for NDT, which is the focus of the presentation.

Conventional piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers are still used for the vast majority of phased array ultrasonic measurements. However, this type of transducers have certain drawbacks and limitations: a) it is a contact technique, b) the transducers require couplant, an immersion tank may be needed, c) they have a considerable size, weight and footprint which may be prohibitive when applied in places with restrictive access and e) their delicate electrical connections and packaging may not withstand extreme environments. The question is: How could phased array technology be a part of a fast, non contact technique which would offer the same advantages in imaging quality remotely?

In this case, the new technology could address extreme environments, such as radioactive environments or extreme heat during manufacturing. It could also address places with restricted access, for example the inside of an aeroengine or the human body. Laser ultrasonics can address these issues: it is a remote, non-destructive technique that uses the light of lasers to generate and detect ultrasound. The presentation will show the challenges and future of using laser ultrasonics in order to synthesise Laser Induced Phased Arrays (LIPAs), as well as ultrasonic images of materials, using all-optical based data, for the purpose of NDT.

Ultrasonic phased arrays have changed the way ultrasonic imaging is perceived and are responsible for increased imaging quality, in real time. Since the '60s, they have had a profound impact in science, medicine and society, being the technology at the heart of all medical ultrasonic imaging and sonars. During the last two decades, they have seen a dramatic increase in their use for NDT, which is the focus of the presentation. Conventional piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers are still used for the vast majority of phased array ultrasonic measurements. However, this type of transducers have certain drawbacks and limitations: a) it is a contact technique, b) the transducers require couplant, an immersion tank may be needed, c) they have a considerable size, weight and footprint which may be prohibitive when applied in places with restrictive access and e) their delicate electrical connections and packaging may not withstand extreme environments. The question is: How could phased array technology be a part of a fast, non contact technique which would offer the same advantages in imaging quality remotely?

In this case, the new technology could address extreme environments, such as radioactive environments or extreme heat during manufacturing. It could also address places with restricted access, for example the inside of an aeroengine or the human body. Laser ultrasonics can address these issues: it is a remote, non-destructive technique that uses the light of lasers to generate and detect ultrasound. The presentation will show the challenges and future of using laser ultrasonics in order to synthesise Laser Induced Phased Arrays (LIPAs), as well as ultrasonic images of materials, using all-optical based data, for the purpose of NDT.

The geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular, equatorial orbit whose period equals the Earth’s rotational period. It allows a satellite to be stationary above a certain point on the Earth’s equator. With the advantage of being stationary, GEO satellites are largely used for telecommunications and Earth observation. The GEO is a unique and currently very congested orbit, especially at longitudes above densely populated areas. In this presentation I will introduce some works about trajectory optimisation for the displaced GEO with loose position constraints. The works mainly focus on the hybrid-sail propellant system for both single spacecraft and multi-spacecraft formation cases.

Abstract: The Raman scattering is a well known analytical chemistry technique where the light is scattered by the vibrating bounds of a molecule. As so it gives a molecular fingerprint of a specific compound. However, Raman scattering is not a very sensitive technique. To circumvent this drawback, it is possible to take advantage of the optical properties of metallic nanoparticles (NP). When exposed to light, coherent oscillations of the free electron gas are taking place on the NP. These so called Localized Surface Plasmon (LSP) create an electromagnetic field which is the basis of the near field enhancement of Raman scattering. This electromagnetic effect is responsible for an enhancement factor that can be as high as 10^8. Another effect, the chemical effect, has a weaker contribution to the Raman scattering enhancement. Its origin is discussed among the community but is probably based on the shifting of the molecules energy levels when it is bound to the NP surface.

In this talk we will focus on the use of SERS substrate for the detection of pollutant in water. We will present results concerning hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds. The first are organic molecules, consisting of two or more fused aromatic rings known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This group of compounds have received considerable attention due their toxicity and carcinogenicity. The hydrophilic compound that we have worked on is paracetamol. This is the most used drug around the world and as so it is highly found in waste water. However, in order to study its impact on the marine environment it is first needed to be able to quantify its presence.

Obviously, these two class of pollutants do not present the same issues in terms of sensing. In the first case it is important to reach a very low limit of detection when the quantification and the specificity are the key for the hydrophilic pollutants. We will present the strategy of surface functionalization we have adopted in both case that include the use of Molecular Imprinted Polymers (MIP) for the detection of paracetamol and the exploitation of pi-pi stacking for the detection of naphthalene, fluoranthene and benzo[A]pyrene.

In the last part of the talk, I will show how the nanostructured surface can play an active role in the functionalization. We have recently demonstrated that the LSP can support chemical reactions such as the well known click chemistry thiol-ene reaction. It is even possible to go further and to performed a different functionalization on different direction of a nanostructure by taking advantage of the light polarization.

Biography: After completing my undergraduate studies in material sciences at the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, I followed my interest in nanotechnologies by enrolling in a doctoral program at the Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS Thales where I developed my field of expertise the nanoparticles growth and their electronic properties. After obtaining my Ph.D. in 2005, I joined the team of Prof. R. E. Palmer at the University of Birmingham where I studied the growth and deposition of size selected clusters and their interactions with proteins. The skills I developed in liquid phase AFM were valued through my second post-doc at the University of Evry. Since 2010 I am a reader at the University Paris 13. My main research interests focus on the development of highly sensitive sensors for biomolecules and pollutants. In my group, we use and develop original lithography techniques to fabricate large assembly of organized nanostructures for SERS (Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy). Through the years we have developed several functionalization paths that have enable us to pre-concentrate analytes, to detect their presence in low concentration and to follow their structural evolution. Recent results are focusing on the possibility of making these sensors active by exploiting the tremendous ideas of plasmon based chemistry.

Abstract: The iCub is a humanoid robot designed to support research in embodied AI. At 104 cm tall, the iCub has the size of a five-year-old child. It can crawl on all fours, walk and sit up to manipulate objects. Its hands have been designed to support sophisticate manipulation skills. The iCub is distributed as Open Source following the GPL licenses and can now count on a worldwide community of enthusiastic developers. The entire design is available for download from the project’s repositories (http://www.iCub.org). More than 30 robots have been built so far which are available in laboratories across Europe, US, Korea, Singapore, and Japan. It is one of the few platforms in the world with a sensitive full-body skin to deal with the physical interaction with the environment including possibly people. I will present the iCub project in its entirety showing how it is evolving towards fulfilling the dream of a personal humanoid in every home.

Short bio: Giorgio Metta is Vice Scientific Director at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) and Director of the iCub Project at the same institute where he coordinates the development of the iCub robotic platform. He holds a MSc cum laude (1994) and PhD (2000) in electronic engineering both from the University of Genoa. From 2001 to 2002 he was postdoctoral associate at the MIT AI-Lab. He was previously with the University of Genoa and since 2012 Professor of Cognitive Robotics at the University of Plymouth (UK). He is member of the board of directors of euRobotics aisbl, the European reference organization for robotics research. Giorgio Metta research activities are in the fields of biologically motivated and humanoid robotics and, in particular, in developing humanoid robots that can adapt and learn from experience. Giorgio Metta is author of more than 250 scientific publications. He has been working as principal investigator and research scientist in about a dozen international as well as national funded projects.

My lab studies fundamental mechanisms of mechanotransduction in the cardiovascular system and their roles in both normal physiology and disease. Our recent work has revealed novel biophysical aspects by which cells sense matrix stiffness, applied strains and fluid shear stress. We also have new results on how these mechanosensing pathways participate in vascular remodelling, atherosclerosis and cardiac fibrosis. I will present our new data that integrates molecular, cellular and animal studies.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is projected to create an unprecedented number of smart and connected systems, yielding a pervasive sensor and actuator network, able to interact with the real world. The diversity and complexity of these applications requires engineers to rethink their manufacturing strategies to enable rapid prototyping, lower cost, and allow customization of low-volume components that cannot be achieved using conventional mass manufacturing. Additive Manufacturing (AM), aka 3D printing, has the potential to meet this increasing demand for flexible personalized engineering, by enabling the direct manufacturing of complex components, directly from a digital design. In particular, the additive manufacturing of metals has great potential for IoT applications by enabling the fabrication of components with both useful electrical and mechanical properties. This talk highlights some developments in metal additive manufacturing technology using both inkjet-based deposition and selective laser sintering (SLS). Inkjet additive manufacturing offers promise of low-cost microfabricated electronics, sensors and actuators on unconventional substrates by making use of organo-metallic nanoparticle based “inks” and thus requires a fundamentally different approach when compared to conventional microfabrication techniques. The process dependence on the electrical and mechanical characteristics of the resulting metal structures is explored for both Gold and Silver. These insights are then applied to numerous applications including multilayer RF structures, microfluidic sensors, printed batteries, and strain gauges. In contrast, Select Laser Sintering uses a laser to thermally fuse dry metal powder into solid structures. These metal structures then offer great potential not only as mechanical components, but also as sensors and actuators. Again, process parameter variation is shown to enable the modification of the electro-mechanical properties of the materials and is explored for 316L and 17-4PH Stainless Steel. SLS is then demonstrated for multiple applications including microwave horn antennas, and high-density 3D microelectrode arrays to highlight the exciting future of additive manufacturing for the Internet of Things.

Abstract:Next-generation implantable and wearable medical devices are emerging to address specific unmet healthcare needs, particularly those in medical monitoring and diagnostics. Monitoring of metabolites (e.g., glucose, lactate) in human body is of significant importance in health-care and personalised therapy. In this talk, I will present our sub-mW CMOS IC that enables the fabrication of miniaturised, inductively powered, and implantable devices for multi-metabolite detection. Next, I will illustrate a novel differential sensing technique to enhance the electrochemical sensing performance. I will also present promising results from our sensors that are developed, for the first time, by growing Pt nano-structures on CMOS IC.

Despite remarkable advances in electrochemical sensor design, the constant need of the sensors for calibration remains a barrier to their diagnostic potential. I will briefly discuss our latest results showing how electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) may be used to auto-calibrate the sensors. In the second part of the talk, I will present our on-chip interface for recovering power and providing full-duplex communication over an AC-coupled 4-wire lead between active implantable devices.

Biography:Dr. Sara Ghoreishi-zadeh received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees (both with distinction) in Electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Iran, and the PhD degree from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, in 2015. She then joined the Centre for Bio-inspired Technology, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, UK. where she is currently a Junior Research Fellow. Her current research focus is integrated circuit and system design for implantable and wearable medical devices. She has been a Review Committee Member and track chair for IEEE conferences including ICECS 2016 and BioCAS 2017. She is an editor of the Journal of Microelectronics and a member of IET and the IEEE CAS, EMB and SSC societies.

Abstract: Recent advances in micro- and nano-technologies provide unique interfacing functionalities to human tissues, with features of miniaturization and low power consumption. Interfaces between biological objects and electronics allow quantitative measurement and documentation of physiological and biochemical parameters, and even behaviors. The interfaces also provide direct modification of cells, tissues, or organs by electrical stimulation making it possible to manage chronic diseases with a closed loop between body and portable computer. Wireless communication and power transfer in the implantable systems enable in-situ sensing for freely-behaving animals or patients without constrains. Wireless networking also allows ubiquitous access to physiological information for treating complex problems in body.

This lecture focuses on our research progress in wireless micro sensors for clinical and neurobiological applications. The systems are based on integrated platforms such as wireless energy transfer for batteryless implants, miniature and flexible electrochemical sensors, nanoparticle modified surfaces, MEMS devices, and wireless communication. Several implantable, wireless diagnosis and therapeutic systems targeting management of pain and gastric disorders will be discussed with emphases on the sensor technologies. These technologies empower new personalized medicines to improve human welfare and assist better living. Sensor device designs, fabrication, characterization, system integration and clinical experiments will be presented.

Biography: J.-C. Chiao is Greene professor and Garrett professor of Electrical Engineering at University of Texas - Arlington. He received his PhD at Caltech and was with Bellcore, University of Hawaii-Manoa and Chorum Technologies before he joined UT-Arlington in 2002.

Dr. Chiao has published more than 260 peer-reviewed papers and received 12 patents. He received the 2011 O'Donnell Award in Engineering presented by The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas. He received the Tech Titan Technology Innovator Award; Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Excellence in Engineering Teaching Award; Research in Medicine milestone award by Heroes of Healthcare; IEEE MTT Distinguished Microwave Lecturer; IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Engineering Educator; and IEEE Region 5 Individual Achievement awards. His works have been covered by National Geographic magazine, Henry Ford Innovation Nation, National Public Radio and many media.

Currently, he is an IEEE Sensors Council Distinguished Lecturer and serving as the Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology.

Abstract: Medical ultrasounds are sound waves with frequencies above audible range. Clinically, 2- to 20-MHz ultrasounds are applied in imaging anatomical structure of the human body and measuring the blood velocities in arteries and veins by using the Doppler effect. By reconstructing the Doppler signal superimposing on the brightness-mode ultrasound imagine (B-mode), the venous and arterial angiography and neovascularisation can be imaged without the use of ionising radiation. The wall shear stress of the blood vessel derived from the velocity profile can be easily measured by using clinical ultrasound scanner. On the similar frequency range, surface acoustic waves are also introduced in actuating cellular particles within whole blood sample for separating target cells, such as circulating tumour cells (CTCs), which is the surrogate of cancer progression and the factor of cancer metastasis. The integration of the acoustic and microfluidic technique has shown the feasibility of manipulating CTCs for downstream characterisation by using microwave resonators.

Biography: Xin Yang is lecturer of Medical Engineering and director of Medical Ultrasound and Sensors Laboratory (MUSL) at the school of Engineering, Cardiff University, and adjunct professor at Lanzhou Jiaotong University, China. He studies Biomedical Engineering at Beijing Jiaotong University from 2001 – 2005. He was awarded the MSc in Medical Electronics & Physics in Queen Mary, University of London in 2006. He worked as the CEO and CTO for two years in Beijing BJ Device Ltd. He was awarded PhD in 2011 for work in Doppler ultrasound in quantifying neovascularisation. He was the British Heart Foundation (BHF) research fellow working at Doppler ultrasound phantoms and wall shear stress measurement at the Queen's Medical Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh. He started his current position in Cardiff University since 2013 and was awarded his EPSRC First Grant in 2016. He has published refereed journal papers on Doppler ultrasound and is principal author of 8 books in the subject of electronics and microcontrollers.

From the company that has been a leading innovator in Spectrum and Network measurements for 70 years, please join us for a FREE RF & Microwave Fundamentals Seminar to help improve your understanding of basic Network Analysis and Spectrum Analysis measurements, including real applications, thus improving your efficiency and effectiveness whether you are in R&D or design & test.

A vector network analyzer (VNA) is a precision measuring tool that tests the electrical performance of high frequency components, in the radio frequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter-wave frequency bands (we will use the generic term RF to apply to all of these frequencies). A VNA is a stimulus-response test system, composed of an RF source and multiple measurement receivers. It is specifically designed to measure the forward and reverse reflection and transmission responses, or S-parameters of RF components. S-parameters have both a magnitude and a phase component, and they characterize the linear performance of the DUT. While VNAs can also be used for characterizing some non-linear behaviour like amplifier gain compression or intermodulation distortion, S-parameters are the primary measurement. The network analyzer hardware is optimized for speed, yielding swept measurements that are faster than those obtained from the use of an individual source and an individual receiver like a spectrum analyzer. Through calibration, VNAs provide the highest level of accuracy for measuring RF components.

You can see our latest solutions, and expand on the practical knowledge you need to have to perform your day-to-day-measurements. Application and product experts from Keysight will be on-hand to give demonstrations and technical presentations around the latest innovations, features and capabilities that enhance the fundamental measurements.

You are cordially invited to attend a casual gathering of Discrete Element Method (DEM) enthusiasts to discuss current and future trends in particle-based numerical modelling. This $free Open Forum welcomes anyone who currently undertakes scientific or engineering research using DEM software; either Open Source or proprietary. The purpose is to stimulate discussion about DEM software, techniques and methods in a relaxed and collegial manner. Generous breaks and discussion periods will facilitate collaboration and comradery. The forum will also serve to launch ESyS-Particle v3.0; including the recent additions of Darcy flow and self-gravity.

The UK-China Emerging Technologies (UCET) workshop will provide ample opportunity for knowledge exchange and the exploration of joint collaborations between various participants from British and Chinese universities through lectures and field visits covering various areas in the supply chain of emerging technologies and integrated systems. This includes multidisciplinary discussions in electronic systems design, communication, and photonics incorporating:

Analog/Digital/Mixed/RF IC Design

Beyond CMOS: Nanoelectronics and Hybrid Systems Integration

Biomedical Circuits and Systems

Computer Aided Design

Energy Harvesting

5G and Beyond Cellular Systems

Flexible Electronics and Wearable Technologies

Integrated Power ICs

Internet of Things

Micro/Nanoelectronics

Neural Networks and Neuromorphic Engineering

Photonics and Optoelectronics

RF, Microwave and mm-wave Circuits

Radar Systems and Remote Sensing

Sensors, Circuits, Systems, Imaging and MEMS

Signal Processing

VLSI and SoC Applications

Wireless Communication Systems

Lectures will also include future directions and will be delivered by leading experts from various fields.